Officials in Ontario have disclosed that they have discovered two confirmed cases of the new coronavirus strain that first surfaced in the United Kingdom.
According to Reuters’ report, officials discovered the new variant in a southern Ontario couple with no travel history, exposure or contact.
The report came at a time when the province imposed a new lockdown.
Reuters reported that in a statement, Ontario’s Associate Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Barbara Yaffe said: “This further reinforces the need for Ontarians to stay home as much as possible and continue to follow all public health advice, including the provincewide shutdown measures beginning today.”
While scientists are still trying to detect the origin and transmission of the new strain, there is a strong belief that the strain is about 40 to 70 percent more transmissible than the one that has been prevalent for a very long time.
A recent study released by Center for Mathematical Modeling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine revealed that the variant is 56 percent more contagious.
Canada recently extended a ban on flights coming from the United Kingdom to January 6, 2020 and jerked up screening and monitoring measures from South Africa owing to the increase of the new strain.
It remains unclear whether the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech and endorsed by Canada and other countries at the beginning of this month can prevent this variant.
